If you put a tattoo of your favorite team on your arm, you are probably planning to be a fan for life.

So, it just makes sense, that you should get free tickets for life for that team as well.

Russ Byers got in line at Cereal City Tattoo and Piercing at 5:30 p.m. on Friday to have a chance to be the first to get a Battle Creek Bombers tattoo when the shop opened at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. And for his efforts, once the ink was dry, he was given his Battle Creek Bombers tickets for life as well as part of a team promotion.

"I heard there might be a lot of people trying to do this and I wanted to make sure i was one of the 12 to get the free tickets, so I got here last night," said Byers, who came in from Delton.

The team hosted Bombers Tattoo Day with the first 12 people to stop in on Saturday at Cereal City Tattoo and Piercing in Battle Creek getting a free Bombers tattoo and receiving two general admission tickets for life to Battle Creek Bombers games in celebration of the team's 12th year in town

For the 67-year-old Byers, the picture of the Bombers logo on his forearm was his first tattoo, but his free tickets won't go toward his first Bombers game as he has been a fan of the team since they arrived.

"I never had a tattoo before, but there was no hesitancy to get this one and now I have Moe Skeeter on my arm for life," Byers said. "I just love the Bombers and now we have tickets for life, too. The only thing we are worried about now, is since the deal is for two tickets, if I pass away and my tattoo goes with me, does my wife still get to use the other tickets. I guess they are still checking into that."

Tom Smith, co-owner of Cereal City Tattoo, was a bit surprised when he saw people waiting in line overnight to get the free tattoos and tickets. But once he realized what was happening, he was more than happy to order pizza for people to enjoy through the night while they waited for the Bombers officials to arrive in the morning with donuts before opening the doors at 10.

"When I saw someone show up at 5:30 yesterday, I said to myself, that's a little crazy," Smith said. "But, I guess that's what this is all about. It's about being a fan of Bombers baseball and, because of what we are doing here today, maybe becoming a fan of tattoos."

David Saxman, 36, was one of the early arrivals and said his love of tattoos as well as baseball drove him to get there before midnight on Friday.

"Free tattoo, free tickets, had my mother-in-law and my wife waiting here in line with me all night, it was all worth it," Saxman said. "I like baseball, played baseball and it's good to have a team here in town we can support. And I'm happy to have a tattoo of the Bombers now as well to show I'm a fan."

Beyond the first 12 people getting free Bombers tickets for life, anyone who came to Cereal City Tattoo on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. could still get a free Bombers tattoo. After the first dozen earning the free tickets for life, those extra fans also received a Bombers 5-pack ticket package.

David Saxman gets his free Battle Creek Bombers tickets for life from General Manager Tyler Shore and Moe Skeeter.(Photo: Bill Broderick/Battle Creek Enquirer)

"We met with Cereal City Tattoo and Piercing way back in the fall and came up with this idea and they were excited about it because it gets people in their shop," said Bombers General Manager Tyler Shore. "It gets people maybe like Russ, who has never had a tattoo, to get his first tattoo at 67 and maybe he gets hooked on it.

"It's been a great partnership and a fun idea and now our goal is to have a day next year when we get all these people together at a game and they can all show off their Moe Skeeter tattoos."